Nevis Nature Network scales up restoration

Trust excited to work on new Nevis Nature Network project with its neighbours: Jahama Highland Estates, Glen Nevis Estate, Forest and Land Scotland and the Nevis Landscape Partnership.

The Nevis Landscape Partnership (NLP) is hosting and coordinating an ambitious landscape-scale nature restoration project. Although the development phase of the Nevis Nature Network is just begining, there has been a lot of work behind the scenes for the past couple of years to gather consensus and agree overall visions and objectives.

The John Muir Trust has long realised that, despite concerted efforts to reduce grazing pressure and the hard work of our stalking team carrying out deer culls, we need to work with our biggest neighbouring landowners to secure long term significant and change.

We manage 1,761 ha in Glen Nevis and on Ben Nevis. The area covered by the new Nevis Nature Network project spans 9,000 ha and covers a vast array of native habitats including: ancient riparian woodland along the River Nevis; fragments of Caledonian forest and Scottish Rainforest; and rare montane scrub on mountain cliffs.

Our shared vision is to restore a rich mosaic of woodland habitats, across Ben Nevis and Glen Nevis, to secure the future of our rare and vulnerable local species and to share wild places with communities near and far.

The four priority areas are:

1. Restoring native woodland
2. Removing invasive species
3. Securing montane scrub
4. Supporting nature connections

The first nine months will be spent gathering existing monitoring and habitat evidence across the whole area; identifying gaps in knowledge; and filling those gaps to build a series of potential actions with clear costs and outcomes that can be delivered at landscape scale.

A series of workshops later this year will help the partners decide what to take forward and how to approach collectively fundraising for the agreed actions in the future delivery phase.

• The Nevis Nature Network is funded by NatureScot Nature Restoration Fund, Rewilding Britain’s Rewilding Innovation Fund, The Woodland Trust, Forestry and Land Scotland, Jahama Highland Estate, Glen Nevis Estate and Friends of Nevis.